Electric sign



J. A. HANWAY Feb. 2, 1932.

ELECTRIC SIGN Filed Feb. 15, 1951.

' of Figure 1;

Patented Feb. 2, 1932 U E T JOHN A. HANWAY, or nnrnorr, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR 'ro WAernnn new snnvron Inc, or. CHICAGO, ILnInoIs, A conronn'rrou or ILLrNoIs ELECTRIC SIGN Application filed February 13,1931.

prise a. boX or housing, the outer wall of" which carries a plurality of letter panels,

e e er 6111 ormee one; 1n-s wron thltt b f b ig l t the panel. Back of the panel and closing the opening is normally a translucent colored plate or ray filter and inside the housing is a source of light. My invention contemplates substituting for the translucent panel or ray filter an opaque panel which may be placed behind the letter panel and which will have in its surface a plurality of electric light sockets extending rearwardly, these sockets registering with the letter opening so that after the panel has been placed, an electric light source, for instance, a plurality of bulbs or one or more neon tubesmay be mounted on the opaque panel in the letter opening projecting forwardlyfrom the plane of the sign so as to. pick out or emphasize individual letters in the sign by the use of individual especially conspicuous light bulbs which give both a special illuminating effect and which result in the production of a sign in three dimensions instead of two dimensions as is usually the case with luminous signs. Other objects will appear from time to time throughout the specification and claim.

My invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein V Figure l is a side elevation of a luminous sign;

Figure 2 is a section along the line 2-2 Figure 3 is a section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1 showing my interchangeable panel in place.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

A is a main frame or housing. It has a side wall'comprising a plurality of panels Serial No. 515,499.

A through which are cut letter apertures A Back of each panel are a plurality of guide tracks A K In these tracks are slidably mounted translucent color panels or ray filters A of glass or other suitable material. Mounted within the housing are a plurality of light sources A which may take the form of electric light bulbs of anydesired character. When the light is turned on, the light from these bulbs is seen through the trans lucent panels and through the letter openings, thus giving a luminous sign. This luminous sign is all in the plane of the wall of the housing and is made up of a plurality oftwo dimension characters or letters illumi-,

nated from behind.

When it is desired to change the character of these letters so as to emphasize individual letters or individual words in the sign, selected translucentpanels are withdrawn and an opaque panel B is slid into place behind the letter to replace the translucent panel or ray filter. This opaque panel is made of metal or other suitable material having suflicient rigidity and may be colored as desired to form a satisfactory reflecting surface for the leter. B B area plurality of electric light sockets mounted on the back of the opaquepanel and projecting into the interior of the housing. They are provided with elec tric conductors B of any desired type whereby the sockets may be energized. It will be noted that the sockets are flush with the front plane of the opaque panel so that the panel may he slid into place just as the glass or translucent panel was and so that there will be no interference with the positioning of the opaque panel. Also this panel may lie immediately against the letter panel and will thus entirely close the letter opening. Electrio lightbulbs B are socketed' in the panel through the front so that they project forwardlyin the third dimension in front of the plane of the letters, thus giving an individually illuminated three dimension letter. When it is desired to remove this letter the electric light bulbs are screwed out, thus making it possible for the opaque panel to be withdrawn.

While I have illustrated the device with the conventional type of screw base electric light bulbs, obviously other types may be used and instead of a plurality of electric light bulbs spaced to outline the letter, a single light source, for instance, a neon tube might be used socketed on the opaque panel.

Either a glass plate or an opaque plate is slid in a position from above along the guide tracks or channels A Joining the lower 1 ends of the guide tracks or channels A are transverse channels A shown in dotted lines on Figure 1 and in full lines in elevation from the outside on Figures 2 and 3. Thus when in place the plate or channel is held on 15 both sides and the bottom.

I claim:

An illuminated sign comprising a housing having an apertured wall, a supporting means within the housing adjacent the wall,

an opaque panel movable edgewise along the wall into and out of register with the aperture therein, an electric light socket projecting rearwardly from the panel, an electric light source reinovably seated in the socket and 5 projecting outwardly through and located in front of the aperture in the wall.

Signed at Detroit, County of Wayne and State of Michigan, this 26th day of January, 1931. 7

3o JOHN A. HANWAY. 

